Curried chicken with sweet potatoes and apples

Other than the ubiquitous pumpkin flavor drenching everything, there's no better sign of fall than apples and sweet potatoes. And as it turns out, these two simple ingredients can make dinner spectacular. For this chicken recipe, I liked it cooked in a large, flat skillet because the juices stayed and reduced themselves into the most delicious sauce.

Ingredients

2 chicken thighs with drumsticks

1 medium onion, quartered and sliced thickly

1 large tomato, thickly sliced

1 bay leaf

4 cloves of garlic, peeled but left whole

1 large sweet potato, peeled and quartered lengthwise

2 Granny Smith apples, washed but not peeled, and quartered

1/2 teaspoon curry powder

1/4 cup wine, any kind

2 tablespoons maple syrup or Silan date honey

salt and pepper

2 tablespoons olive oil

Directions

Use a large, shallow skillet. Pour in the olive oil and add the chicken pieces. Keep the flame at medium.

Arrange the onion and tomato slices on top of the chicken. Add the bay leaf, curry, garlic, salt and pepper.

Cover the skillet partway and let the chicken start to brown. My skillet doesn't have a lid, so I borrowed one from another pan and tilted it over the skillet.

After about 20 minutes, turn the chicken over, letting the vegetables and spices fall to the bottom of the skillet.

The chicken should be about half done. Add the sweet potato and the apples. Keep the apples skin side down so the pieces stay whole by the end of the cooking. Sprinkle salt and pepper over all.

Drizzle the wine and the maple syrup (or date honey) in. The liquids will bubble up and start to reduce. Let it go for a few minutes, then cover the skillet partway again.

Maintain medium heat and cook a further 20 minutes. You'll probably need to stir the vegetables around a bit. If the liquids dry out, your flame's too high – splash in a little more wine and reduce the heat.

Cook till the chicken is cooked through and golden, and the sweet potatoes are tender.

A big mixed salad goes well with this. And if you need to fill the menu out some more, serve the chicken with rice.

Great with a glass of wine and good company, this curried chicken is a crowd-pleaser. (Photo: Anna Norris)